Registering mechanism



Feb. 20, 1940. J. L. FORD 2,191 1 0 REGISTERING MECHANISM Fild July 19, 1937 A TTORNEYSL Patented Feb. 20, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REGISTERING MECHANISM tion of Indiana Application July 19, 1987, Serial No. 154,363

2 Claims.

Water meters, as well as other types of meters, are frequently installed out of doors or in other locations where they are subject to variations in temperature. If the registering mechanism of the meter is not hermetically sealed, it often happens that a drop in temperature will be accompanied by the precipitation of condensed moisture on the inner surface of the glass covering the registering mechanism; and such precipi- 1'0- tation is frequently heavy enough to obscure the registering mechanism and make reading thereof difficult if not impossible. Various expedients including wiping members movable across the inner surface of the cover glass have been proposed to overcome this difliculty, but so far as I am aware none of them has ever proved sufficiently satisfactory to receive commercial acceptance.

It is the object of my invention to produce a registering mechanism which can readily be read 241 in spite of any condensation that may occur on the under surface of the cover glass. More specifically, it is my object to so construct the registering mechanism and the cover glass that an accurate reading can be obtained without the 25 necessity for removing condensation from the inner surface of the glass. A further object of my invention is to secure the desired result without the necessity for any extensive change in the construction of the registering mechanism or its 30 parts.

In one embodiment of my invention, such indicating hands of the registering mechanism as are ordinarily read are provided respectively with auxiliary members formed of some light elastic 5 material each disposed in line with the associated hand and adapted to bear lightly against the inner surface of the cover glass. These auxiliary members, being disposed in contact with the inner surface of the cover glass, are visible there- 40 through in spite of any condensation that may be present on the inner surface of the glass, and their respective positions are therefore readily determinable. As any condensate frequently not only obscures the hand but also the dial with 45 which the hand is associated, it may be desirable to etch or print a supplementary dial on the cover glass.

In another modification of my invention, the main hands of the registering mechanism are 50 made of light elastic material and formed to bear lightly against the inner surface of the cover glass, thus eliminating the necessity for an auxiliary member. If this is done, the graduations on the cover glass may be the only dial graduations 55 employed; although in view of the possibility of breakage of the cover glass, it probably is desirable that the conventional dial graduations on the usual dial plate be also employed.

The accompanying drawing illustrates my invention: Fig. l is a top plan view of a form of 5 registering mechanism commonly associated with water meters; Fig. 2 is an isometric view of the indicating mechanism and cover glass, with a portion of the cover glass broken away; and Fig.

3 is a fragmental section illustrating a modified form of construction.

In registering mechanism of the type with which my invention may be used, a gear train drives a series of hands 10 at successively decreasing speeds. Ordinarily, each of these hands is mounted on a shaft H projecting forwardly through a dial-plate I2 which carries, associated with each hand In, an annular series of graduations I3 from which the desired reading is obtained. The registering mechanism is enclosed 2t) in a suitable casing having a sight opening in which is mounted a cover glass II. The cover glass may be protected by a hinged cover 15, as illustrated in Fig. 1.

In embodying my invention in registering mechanism of the kind described, I secure to the hands l0 auxiliary hands l1. Each of the auxiliary hands is made of light elastic material, such as thin spring-steel, and is secured to its associated main hand ill in alinement therewith so that its angular position about the axis of the mam hand will correspond to that of the main hand itself. The auxiliary hands I! are so shaped as to bear with a light pressure against the inner surface of the cover glass N.

If desired, the dial graduations I3 on the dialplate l2 may be supplemented by corresponding dial graduations I8 etched, printed, or otherwise formed on the cover glass I 4. Since the outer surface of the cover glass is exposed whenever the cover 15 is raised, any deposit of moisture or other substances on the outer surface thereof can be readily removed by wiping. To maintain alinement between the supplementary dials l8 and the respectively corresponding main dials 13, some means is provided for holding the ordinarily circular cover glass [4 in fixed angular position in the 'casing enclosing the registering mechanism. As indicated in the drawing, this means takes the form of a notch 20 provided in 5 the edge of the cover glass l4 and shaped to receive a boss 2| on the casing.

As the hands I0 rotate in the operation of the registering mechanism, the auxiliary hands I! rotate with them. As each auxiliary hand is in direct contact with the inner face of the cover glass M, it is visible through the cover glass in spite of any condensed moisture that may be present on the inner surface thereof. If the condensation on the inner surface of the cover glass is heavy enough to obscure the main dial graduations 53, the position of each auxiliary hand I! can be accurately determined from the supplementary dial graduations 18 on the cover glass.

For completeness of illustration, I have shown auxiliary hands ll associated with all the main hands it of the registering mechanism of the water meter. In reading Water meters measuring the amount of water supplied aconsumer, however, it is customary to read only to the nearest cubic feet (or to the nearest 100 gallons if the registering mechanism is calibrated to read in gallons), the two fastest moving hands being employed only for purposes of testing the meter. As a result, the auxiliary hands I! associated with the two fastest moving main hands I!) are in most cases unnecessary. If such auxiliary hands are unnecessary, it is desirable to eliminate them in order to reduce frictional drag on the riving element of the meter.

In the modification of my invention illustrated in Fig. 3, each of the conventional main hands it is eliminated and there is substituted for it an elastic hand 25 mounted directly on the associated shaft H and formed to bear lightly against the inner surface of the cover glass I 4. In this construction, the graduations I3 on the face of the dial plate 12 may be omitted and the reading obtained from the graduations I8 on the outer face of the cover glass; but it is in most cases desirable to retainthe graduations I 3 on the dial plate l2 in View of the possibility of breakage of the cover glass.

It is to be noted that the hands l1 and 25 Which are provided for the registering mechanism are not intended to remove condensation from the inner surface of the cover glass to make the dial plate l2 or other parts of the device visible. The rate of revolution of the hands, and especially of the slower moving hands, is so low in comparison with the rate at which condensation may form as to make them ineffective in the removal of condensation.

I claim as my invention:

1.- In a registering mechanism having a dial plate and a main indicating hand rotatable thereover, an auxiliary hand rotatable with said main hand and in line therewith, and a cover glass for said dial plate, said auxiliary hand being arranged to bear yieldingly against said cover glass, said cover glass being provided with an annular series of graduations for said auxiliary hand.

2. In a registering mechanism having a dial plate and a main indicating hand rotatable thereover. an auxiliary hand rotatable with said main hand and in line therewith, and a cover glass for said dial plate, said auxiliary hand being arranged to bear yieldingly against said cover glass.

JOHN L. FORD. 

